The United States can boast of having in its hands a precision instrument to understand the world around us.
Most of us mortals do not understand the scope of some research, not even a tiny part of the majority of terms used in the scientific field, but it is important to be aware of developments in different fields of science, whether we are talking about those known as biobots or chaos theory. Now, we will talk to you about a laser type and of his most recent update.
Releasing electrons to delve into matter
The National Accelerator Laboratory, part of the United States Department of Energy, has announced on its website the ignition of LCLS-IIthe most advanced x-ray laser on the planet.
In this case, it is a free electron laserwhich in short, differs from a conventional laser in that ‘it uses a beam of electrons that are not bound to atoms, but move freely in a magnetic field’, according to the definition published on Wikipedia.
#Congrats to our colleagues at @SLACLab, who have fired up their recently upgraded LCLS-II – the brightest hard X-ray free-electron laser in the world! We can’t wait to see what scientists can accomplish with such an awesome tool for research!https://t.co/dnU9Ig8aa5
— Jefferson Lab (@JLab_News) September 18, 2023
The laser LCLS-II is able to release one million x-ray flashes per second, which implies that it does 8,000 times more than the previous laser from the North American laboratory. Thanks to this type of free electron laser, it is possible to capture details of the behavior of molecules, atoms and electronswithout its chemistry, biology or materials being affected.
Jennifer M. Granholm, Secretary of Energy of the United States, assures that ‘the LCLS-II will illuminate the smallest and fastest phenomena in the universe and lead us to realize great discoveries in disciplines ranging from health even the science of quantum materials‘.
.@SLAClab‘s X-ray laser “will enable chemists and biologists to make molecular movies with a crispness never seen before, and will offer a look inside rare molecular events invisible to other instruments.”https://t.co/lAk2an7Pni
— Manuel Gnida (@manuelgnida) September 18, 2023
There is no doubt about the impressiveness of the laser featured in the article, which is not only capable of producing thousands of times more X-ray pulses per second, but also that its continuous beam is 10,000 times brighter than the first version, which dates back to 2009. But, without a doubt, the work carried out would not have been possible without the collaboration of institutions from all over the world and without the presence of superconducting acceleratorwhich allows LCLS-II to operate.
Thanks @ZachFuentesABC7 @smarthur @abc7newsbayarea for stopping by @SLAClab and taking a look at our brand-new X-ray laser LCLS-II. pic.twitter.com/QN989lpaAq
— Manuel Gnida (@manuelgnida) September 18, 2023
The accelerator in question has 37 cryogenic modules that are located -270ºC, lower than the temperature of outer space, in order to be able to launch electrons at high energies without them being lost. Some Applicationsto be finalized, which could have the new free electron laser from the National Accelerator Laboratory would be:
- Study interactions of quantum materials on their natural time scale, which will improve quantum computing and other technologies.
- New details of chemical and biological reactionswith which, for example, carry out renewable energy processes more efficiently.
- Keep track of the energy flows in complex systems and in real time, something tremendously useful in the field of communications.
- Observation of the internal structure and properties of materials at an atomic scale, which will allow them to be designed with unique properties.